Does it bother you that there are kids with special needs in your kid's class?

Early release days are common, it's a funding thing. If the school serves lunch, then they get the full funding for the day. So they have their teacher meetings on days when they have an early release. Districts are so strapped for cash these days they do everything they can for money.

The classroom might brighten up as the school year goes and the walls are covered with art projects. But Kinder these days is not Pre-K, it's a classroom and they do real academics. When I went to Kinder we just did some coloring and glueing and went home after a couple of hours. I've never seen a Kinder with a play area in the class, but they do have educational toys for centers.

Recess really varies. I thought California was light on the recess, personally. Texas isn't much better, but they get by with an extra recess by having extra physical fitness times built in the school day. I've never seen a school place so much emphasis on PE before, but it's great. They get 2 15 min recesses and after lunch they have a physical fitness time, plus they get PE every other day and Fitness Friday, which is like a huge party. The kids love it.